A Man Not Her Own Read online

  For one long moment, silence hovered uneasily between them. Then he nodded. “Right. The lessons.”

  Sarah walked to the front of the store toward the counter, aware of Mitch following close behind. Get a grip, Sarah girl. Business is business. She needed to get used to dealing with Mitch. He lived next door and worked across the street. It was going to be impossible to avoid him. She would have to put a lid on her wayward hormones. Bad-boy Mitch Defalco would never look at someone like Sarah Cooper.

  At the computer, she pulled up the weekly schedule for lessons and checked to see where she had an opening. “I need Lindsey over here to see what afternoons are good for her.”

  Mitch looked back across the shop. “Well, damn,” he muttered, and stalked off in the direction of the flutes.

  Huh-oh. Lindsey was talking to Thomas Mendoza, the young man who helped out in the store every day after school. Thomas was a senior and a talented musician. He was also an extremely handsome kid in a dangerous kind of way. Sort of like Mitch had been, with an exotic dark-skinned element thrown into the mix.

  Sarah took off after Mitch, not wanting him to hurt Thomas or embarrass Lindsey. She knew from growing up with her sister, how fathers reacted to bad boys coming anywhere near their daughters. Not that Thomas was bad. He was a good, hard-working kid.

  Damn these motherly instincts. Quickly catching up to Mitch, Sarah grabbed his arm. “Wait a minute. What are you doing?”

  Mitch halted in his tracks and looked down at Sarah. Her hazel-colored eyes were narrowed, her cheeks flushed and she looked ready to do battle. He glanced over to where Lindsey was talking to a guy, who was looking at his daughter like she was a piece of candy. Eye-candy.

  Mitch suddenly realized Lindsey was eye-candy to boys her age and older—probably younger, too. Hell, why had he been saddled with a pretty teenage daughter? The gods were surely laughing at him from up above.

  He jerked his arm from Sarah’s grasp and straightened his jacket sleeve. He felt hot under the collar and confused. He didn’t like the feeling. For the last ten years, he’d fought for control of his life, his destiny and his emotions. He hated feeling out of control. And that’s how he’d felt ever since he’d learned he had a daughter.

  Sarah moved to stand in front of him, as if protecting her baby cubs. “Lindsey is perfectly safe with Thomas. He’s a nice boy, no matter what he looks like. It’s none of my business, but you don’t want to do anything to alienate Lindsey any more than you obviously already have.”

  Mitch clenched his jaw, frustration pounding his insides to a pulp. “I haven’t done anything to alienate her. She won’t talk to me. She’s barely said anything since the day we met. Do you know how it feels to live in the same house with a daughter you didn’t know you had and she treats you like you’re the bad guy?”

  Why he was telling this to Sarah Nicholson—Cooper, her name is Cooper—he had no idea. Something about her invited Mitch to unburden himself. She’d always been surrounded by some kind of an aura. He’d felt it when she was a kid; he felt it now. Only now, it was mixed with sexual awareness, which was ridiculous. He’d dated her sister. Slept with her sister. He shouldn’t feel this way about Sarah.

  Damn, he must be losing what little sanity he had left. One more glance in Lindsey’s direction and he stuffed his hands in his pockets. He wanted to protect his daughter from rampaging-hormone-driven boys. He knew all too well what they were after.

  “I don’t want Lindsey getting hurt,” he said. “She’s been through enough already.”

  Sarah smiled a warm understanding smile that nearly knocked him to his knees. “I know you don’t want her to get hurt,” she said. “Try not to over-react. You’re new to this parenting business. You have to walk a fine line between protecting them and letting them experience life to its fullest.”

  Mitch chuckled. “So speaks the mother who had a conniption fit when I let her son sit on my motorcycle.”

  Sarah raised her chin. “That’s different. Besides, we’re talking about Lindsey, not Josh.”

  “Right. You know, you’re cute when you get up on your high horse. Very cute.”

  She shot him a look he couldn’t interpret. “Gee, thanks,” she said. “Just what every thirty-one-year-old woman wants to hear. That they’re cute.”

  He stepped closer. Something about Sarah appealed to him and Mitch knew he needed to be careful around her. Fact was, he’d always lived dangerously; he liked to take risks.

  “You’re more than cute, Sarah.” Another step closer and he was standing in her personal space, feeling a tug he had no business to feel. Was it because he’d tagged her as forbidden fruit? She was blushing. He’d always been able to make her blush. He’d gotten a kick out of it when she was a kid. Now, he realized he’d like to see her blush all over. Without clothes. In bed.

  Whoa, Defalco. Don’t even think about Jeanie’s little sister naked. In bed. Say something, anything to diffuse the tension. “I can’t believe you told me your age.”

  She lifted her chin higher. “You know perfectly well how old I am. Shouldn’t we be discussing Lindsey and her horn lessons?”

  “I’ll go get her.” He needed to put some distance between himself and temptation. He already had his hands full with his daughter. He didn’t need the distraction of lusting after a woman who was off-limits and out of reach.

  ****

  For the first time since she’d lost her mother and found her father, Lindsey was actually enjoying herself. As soon as she’d walked into The Music Shoppe, she’d felt good. Talking to Mrs. Cooper was cool. She really knew her stuff.

  Talking to Thomas Mendoza was even cooler. He knew his stuff, too. And he was hot, very hot. He was two years older, a senior. She’d seen him in band class and thought he looked hot then. He played the saxophone. He said he played the guitar, too.

  Lindsey wished she could learn to play the guitar. Maybe she could talk Mitch into letting her take lessons, in addition to horn lessons. She knew she could handle it with homework and all. She was good in school. School had always been her refuge. A safe place away from her miserable life with her mother.

  “Nice talking to you,” Thomas said. “My three-thirty lesson has just walked through the door, so I’ve gotta run. Ask your dad about those guitar lessons. Wednesday or Thursdays at four would work for me. See you in band.”

  “See you.” She watched Thomas greet a young boy carrying a guitar case. They walked to the back of the shop, into one of the practice rooms and closed the door. Yes, she would definitely ask Mitch about playing the guitar.

  Doing an about face, Lindsey halted in her tracks. Mitch and Mrs. Cooper seemed to be having a serious discussion. Both of them looked at her and without a doubt, she knew they were talking about her.

  Mitch started walking in her direction and motioned for her to join them, then returned to stand by Mrs. Cooper.

  When she reached them, Mrs. Cooper smiled at her. For some reason, she felt drawn to the lady and wanted to smile back. Lindsey glanced at Mitch. He wasn’t smiling, but his brown-almost-black-colored eyes gleamed strangely—or not so strangely. Lindsey had seen that gleam in men’s eyes when they’d looked at her mother. Only her mother would be batting her fake eyelashes and flirting back. Mrs. Cooper seemed completely unconscious of the effect she was having on Mitch. Interesting.

  Mitch broke the silence. “Sarah needs to know your schedule. How do your afternoons look?”

  “I think I have Wednesdays and Thursdays free after school. Will that work?” She directed her question to Mrs. Cooper. It was easier to talk to her than to Mitch.

  “Let’s go see. I believe I have a slot open on Wednesdays.” Mrs. Cooper smiled over her shoulder, as she walked to the counter. Lindsey and Mitch trailed after her. Lindsey didn’t think she’d ever seen such a beautiful smile. It made her feel all warm and gooshy inside.

  Mrs. Cooper stood at her computer. “Okay, I’m putting you down for Wednesdays. Four-thirty. Do you have ever
ything you need? Did the school provide you with a horn?”

  “Yes, but I need a new mouthpiece.” Lindsey looked at Mitch.

  “Get one and anything else you want.”

  Mrs. Cooper brought three mouthpieces from behind the counter. “Take your pick.”

  Lindsey’s throat tightened. She’d never had a new mouthpiece before. She’d always had to beg, borrow and scrape to get by in band, and everything else. She opened each box and examined the mouthpieces before finally selecting one. “I also need valve oil and a few other supplies.”

  “Right over there, third aisle.”

  “Thanks.” Living with Mitch, things would be different. They already were. Now, if only she could feel like he really wanted her and wasn’t just doing his duty. Gathering the stuff, she headed back to the counter.

  Mrs. Cooper rang it up. “Is that all?”

  Lindsey swallowed hard. She hadn’t been acting very nice to Mitch and felt uneasy about asking him for the extra lessons, but it was now or never. She cleared her throat. “I would also like to sign up for guitar lessons.”

  Mitch had taken his wallet from his pocket. He looked up from counting out the money. “No.” He slapped the bills on the counter.

  Lindsey stared at him. “No? If money’s a problem—”

  “Money’s not a problem.” Mitch stuffed his wallet back in his pocket. “No guitar lessons. End of discussion.”

  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Why not?”

  He heaved a sigh. “I don’t want you playing the guitar. The French horn is fine, the guitar, no. I have my reasons.”

  “Are you going to tell me why?”

  “Not here.”

  Lindsey glanced at Mrs. Cooper, who was staring at Mitch with a strange expression on her face. Well, Lindsey could certainly relate to that. Mitch was being totally unfair.

  He pushed away from the counter. “Thanks, Sarah. See you around. Ready?” he said to Lindsey.

  Just like that. Like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Just like he’d been acting since she’d shown up on his doorstep in L.A. All this time and they hadn’t really talked to each other, or gotten to know each other. She hadn’t made it easy for him, but he was the grown-up, damn it. She refused to play grown-up again. She’d had enough of that with her mother.

  Mitch should make the effort to communicate, but he never said much. She knew in her heart he didn’t want her.

  Lindsey grabbed the bag and headed for the door. “I’m walking home.”

  ****

  Sarah stood at the sink, washing the dinner dishes, looking out the window at Josh and Lindsey playing basketball on the driveway. Almost two weeks had passed since she and her father had moved next door. It hadn’t taken long for Lindsey and Josh to make friends. Seemed they both had a burning passion for basketball.

  Smiling, Sarah rinsed a cup and put it in the drainer. Josh had another burning passion besides basketball—he had a crush on the pretty teenage girl living next door. Thank goodness, Lindsey was aware of it. She treated him like a pesky little brother; so hopefully, Josh would grow out of his crush and appreciate Lindsey for being an older friend.

  The back door flew open and Josh dashed in, with Lindsey following at a more sedate pace.

  “Mom! Can we have some Kool-Aid? Playing basketball is hard work.” He plopped down at the kitchen table, his face so hot and sweaty, his freckles stood out.

  Lindsey ruffled his hair and chuckled. “Basketball’s supposed to be fun, JC, not hard work. Don’t bother getting the glasses, Mrs. C, I’ll get them.”

  “Thanks, sweetie. I’m up to my elbows in suds.”

  “No problem.”

  Lindsey had made herself at home after the first few times Josh had invited her in after their games. Sarah was glad the girl felt comfortable enough to relax and let down her usual hostile attitude. Something she still maintained with Mitch.

  “Your father working late again?” Sarah scrubbed the pot she’d cooked macaroni and cheese in.

  “Third day in a row.” Lindsey filled the glasses and set the pitcher on the table. “Who would have thought so many people in Stone Creek would want their pictures taken? It’s so tiny compared to L.A.”

  “The town’s small but growing,” Sarah said. “Thanks to the new dam and lake and the tourists, businesses are popping up all around. A lot different from when I was growing up.”

  Lindsey sat down at the table. “Speaking of growing up here, you’ve never told me how you know my dad. Did you guys date back in the Stone Age?”

  She wished. “Hey, now. Watch who you’re calling old.” Sarah rinsed the pot and placed it in the drainer. For some reason, she hesitated to tell Lindsey about Mitch and Jeanie.

  “I’m joking, Mrs. C. No one would take you for much over twenty-five. You’re still very pretty. Isn’t your mom pretty, JC?”

  Sarah turned around in time to see her son scrunch up his face as he pondered the question. “I guess she’s pretty... for a mom.”

  Sarah laughed. “Gee, thanks, honey.”

  A sharp knock on the screen door made her jump. Mitch stood on the porch looking in and Sarah’s heart jumped, too.

  “Can I come in?” His deep voice sent her blood racing in her veins. She squelched the feeling. Sarah knew better than to play with fire. She’d been burned once before. Worse than burned.

  Mitch didn’t wait for an answer—just opened the door and entered the kitchen. The room seemed to shrink with his presence.

  “I was looking for you,” he said to Lindsey. “When I got home and you weren’t there, I was worried. You should leave a note when you’re going somewhere.”

  Lindsey shrugged. “You know I’m usually over here in the evenings. It’s not like there’s much to do in this dinky little town.”

  Mitch frowned. “Get on over to the house. I’m sure you have homework or something.”

  Lindsey drained her glass. “Right. I’m outa here. See you later, squirt.” She ruffled Josh’s hair again and was out the door before Sarah had time to dry her hands.

  Josh scooted off his chair and glared at Mitch. “You don’t have to be so mean to her!”

  “Josh, don’t be rude,” Sarah said, mortified by her son’s behavior.

  “Well, he doesn’t.” He ran out of the kitchen and clomped up the stairs to his room.

  Just like that, Sarah was alone with Mitch. In her kitchen that had suddenly grown extremely small and confining. She finished drying her hands and hung the dishtowel on the oven door handle.

  Mitch stared after Josh, then turned to face Sarah. The anguish in his dark eyes tugged at her heart.

  “I don’t mean to be mean to Lindsey,” he said, his voice low and gruff. “I can’t seem to do anything right when it comes to her.”

  Sarah didn’t know what to think or say. She couldn’t imagine suddenly finding out you had a child who was already a teenager.

  He pinched the bridge of his nose. Sarah couldn’t read his expression. She hadn’t seen much of him since the day he’d signed Lindsey up for horn lessons. Oh, she’d seen him during the day, coming and going from his photography studio. Not that she’d been spying or anything. She always kept abreast of what was happening up and down Main Street. One of the perks of living in a small town: Nosiness was a requirement.

  He cleared his throat. “This parenting thing has knocked me on my...uh, butt. I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong.” He shook his head. “I want to make it right for her. I want to make up for the years we missed.”

  His earnestness tugged at Sarah’s heart again. Maybe there was more to this man than she knew. “Lindsey’s a good girl,” she said. “Right now, she’s lost and confused. She hasn’t said much to me, but she’s a different child when she’s over here. And at The Music Shoppe, she smiles and laughs quite a lot.”

  “That’s good to know. She’s had a rough life. I should have been there for her.”

  “You would have been, if you’
d known.”

  “How do you know that?”

  She couldn’t tell him that because of her teenage crush, she had made it her business to find out all she could about him. “You may have been Stone Creek’s Bad-boy Defalco, but you never shirked your responsibilities.”

  “Yeah, well...” He shot her a strange look. “Mind if I sit down?”

  Yes. “Be my guest.”

  Mitch sank into a chair at the table and settled in like he wasn’t in any hurry to leave. “I need to ask a favor.”

  Sarah sat down across from him. “What kind of favor?” She couldn’t imagine what Mitch could want from her. He had family in town—lots of family who would be more than happy to help him out.

  He picked up the Kool-Aid pitcher. “Can I have some of this?”

  The man kept surprising her. “Uh... sure. Let me get a glass.”

  “I’ll use Lindsey’s.” He poured the purple drink into the glass and drained it.

  Sarah had to smile. “Good?”

  “Oh, yeah.” He smiled back.

  The effect on her system set off alarm bells.

  Mitch let out a long breath. “God, I haven’t had Kool-Aid in years. Mind if I have some more?”

  “Sure, help yourself.” She had the distinct impression he was stalling. What kind of favor could he possibly want?

  He poured another glassful and sipped it this time, studying her over the rim. That old familiar heat crept over her. Oh, lord. Her feelings for him seemed to have survived the years and separation. Not good.

  “I’m sorry Josh said what he said.” Sarah splashed a little Kool-Aid into Josh’s cup and took a sip. “He has a crush on Lindsey, you know.”

  Mitch grinned. “Protecting his lady-fair?”

  Sarah set down her cup with a thunk. Good gracious. Those dimples should have a warning label on them. “Something like that,” she managed to say.

  “He’s a good boy. You’re doing a good job with him.”

  Mitch’s praise warmed Sarah deep inside. “Thanks.”

  He set his glass down and laced his finger together on top of the table. His hands were large, his fingers blunt-tipped. For once, he wasn’t wearing his leather jacket. Sarah could see the muscles straining against the black fabric of his T-shirt. He wore a silver chain with some kind of medal under his shirt. Dark hair covered his arms, and his five o’clock shadow made him look sexy. Dangerous. And lethal.